Crumble

Apricot season is quite short here in NY, so when you see them in the market or at the grocer, it’s best to grab them while you can. While I am a little late in my purchase, these apricots were still okay though not sweet and somewhat bitter.

This crumble is incredibly easy to make and the result is impressive. I am always a bit skeptical using a spring form pan (have not had much luck with them- they always leak!) but it worked out perfectly with this crust. I should have added a touch more sugar to my fruit, (tasting is important!) as it was a bit tarter than I normally would have liked. I know that in French baking, it is more important to taste the fruit than something sugary sweet, but here, a tad more sugar would have helped the fruit loose a bit of it’s bitterness. But once paired with the ice cream, it was perfect! Not another thing was needed.

And honestly, the ice cream is the very best part of this dessert. It really takes this fruit crumble to another level and it is so much better than serving the tart alone. Before I started, I did read all about using apricot kernels and while they do produce a toxin, you would have to eat quite a lot of them before any damage would be inflicted. They taste very much like almonds and once combined in the base of the ice cream they lend a wonderful nutty aroma and flavor to the dessert. Since this ice cream recipe calls for so many kernels, and the crumble uses about half the amount of apricots needed, you could make only a half a batch of ice cream as I did.

Overall, this one is a keeper. The crust and the crumble were fantastic. The ice cream is a stand out and I think next time I make this crumble tart, peaches and blueberries would also work well in the mix. And, I’ll be sure to taste the fruit before baking!

This week’s recipe can be found here or can be found on page 309 of the book. For details on recreating this and other recipes, check out the CookTheBookFridays site and see others who are also cooking the book-